


The Arc of Ascension, Saga 9: an unexpected break in the weather

by bzarcher, solarbird



Series: Of Gods and Monsters [50]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Altering the Deal, Alternative Perspective, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Canon Lesbian Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Changing Perspectives, Christmas Decorations, Compromise, F/F, F/M, Holidays, Hope, Lesbian Character of Color, Multi, Olive Branch, Post-Talon, Post-Talon Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Reconciliation, Talon Emily, Talon Emily "Oilliphéist" Gardner, Talon Fareeha "Pharah" Amari, Talon Hana "D.Va" Song, Talon Lena "Tracer" Oxton, Unexpected Solutions, Unexpected Visitors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-29 22:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15738879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/pseuds/bzarcher, https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarbird/pseuds/solarbird
Summary: The new gods have risen, ready to grapple with a world of heroes. Moira O'Deorain herself has been reborn, now made one of the creations her previous self meant to rule, and she works with her wife - the goddess Mercy - and their ensemble of new deities to remake the world, toimproveit... for everyone.It's Mei-Ling Zhou's turn to receive anofferfrom the Gods in Oasis. But what will happen......if she saysno?Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Ascensionis a continuance ofOf Gods and Monsters: The Arc of CreationandThe Armourer and the Living Weapon. It will be told in a series of eddas, sagas, interludes, fragments, texts, and cantos, all of which serve their individual purposes. To follow it as it appears,please subscribe to the series.





	1. a critical hour at narita airport

_[November, 2078]_   
_[All dialogue in this chapter is translated from the Mandarin]_

"Hello, Mei-Ling!" Angela called, in perfect Mandarin, waving as the Chinese scientist exited customs at Narita Airport, in Japan. "We're over here!"

Dr. Zhou looked over at the woman who had, once upon a time, been a friend and her two companions, and nodded once, briefly, before walking over to meet them.

As she got close, she noticed the extra fullness in the back of the woman's jacket, and hesitated. "You're... wearing your wings? Why?"

"I told you the coat was a bad idea," Fareeha said, her opal eyes bright with amusement.

"I didn't want to attract any more attention than necessary," Angela replied, primly, turning back to Mei-Ling. "They're part of my body, and have been for some time. I'd just as soon remove a leg before removing them. I'm sorry if that surprised you - we thought you knew."

Mei-Ling looked back and forth between the two of them, not sure where to start. "We thought that was the case but we weren't sure - you... both speak Mandarin now?"

"It's one of the highest population languages on the planet," Moira interjected, her Mandarin just as flawless. "It would be foolish not to. And might I say it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Dr. Zhou." She smiled and bowed an appropriate amount, adding her own little flourish.

"Well," Mei-Ling said, dubiously, "We have two hours before my return flight. You said you wanted to talk in person about climatology, so... let's talk?"

"Yes," Dr. Ziegler said. "But... may I just say how nice it is to see you again, finally, Mei? If I can still call you Mei. We've all missed you, you know."

_That's what I'm afraid of,_ Mei-Ling thought. "Thank you," she said politely, leaving it at that.

\-----

"You have the _what?_ " Dr. Zhou asked, sipping from her coffee. BOSS, cold, from a can. She really didn't think they'd do anything to any food she might order, but... why take chances? Besides, Japanese vending machines were cute. "Really?"

"Really," Angela replied. "We've claimed it under the international law of the sea as salvage. The Korean Army cleared most of the equipment, of course, but we didn't need it - or, really, want it - anyway. But we kept the life support systems, have been refurbishing the habitation modules, and have been adding monitoring gear since they left."

"It's in a good location for an ecopoint, wouldn't you agree, Dr. Zhou?" Moira asked. "As a primary staging facility, of course. And given its relative proximity to China, and your university, it only seemed natural - if we're going to extend our efforts to the oceans, as we'd obviously need to do - to offer it to you."

"...your efforts?" she said, already making guesses.

"We've already been working on the problem, of course, based on the data in your paper - and the advance information Angela had seen. I'm sure you've noticed the results."

She put down her coffee. "My team has been seeing second-derivative changes we cannot explain. Are you claiming..."

"Stating outright, Doctor," Dr. O'Deorain said. "But we need someone who understands the problems more deeply. More... personally, even."

"We've been working on some of the most obvious issues," Dr. Ziegler said. "Issues one does not need to be a climatologist to understand. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, and ammonia, in the air. Heavy metals and various obviously-noxious contaminants in water, and, to a lesser degree, soils."

Mei’s jaw dropped as she listened to their explanation. "How? The scope of the problem is all but unfathomably large! The processing capacity alone would..."

"We've been working with Vishkar. Every one of their developments requires a rather extensive HVAC system, and their hardlight technologies remove the metal scarcity problems with metal organic framework scrubbing systems, so..."

"...you have hundreds of those! But that's still..."

"Well over a thousand at this point," Fareeha said, "And, of course, still more under development." She smiled, and took a sip from her strawberry Ramune. "Lena and I helped design the security systems, as consultants. I know the numbers."

"Every one of them keeps the carbon dioxide levels at a comfortable 240ppm inside - and nearby, with continual air exchange," Angela said, and, listening, via Mei's phone, Athena froze for almost two hundred milliseconds, before throwing herself into an entirely new set of analytics. "Hundreds of thousands of fans - counting the industrial sites - the residential systems moving an average of sixty-three cubic metres of air per climate control fan per second, the industrial... well. Here are the numbers," she said, passing a disposable padd across the table. "It works out to about 180 million tonnes of carbon dioxide extraction per year."

"That's..." Mei did some calculations, pulling up her own padd, copying over numbers. "That's... over half a percent of the measurable output from a year during the peak emissions period."

"There's no reason for you to have noticed that Vishkar has become a major supplier of industrial diamond," Moira noted, "but it has. It helps defray at least _some_ of the cost."

"Also, diamond-coated glass," Fareeha added, "and other products. But a lot of it just ends up in bricks."

"...and about... 0.004% of total atmospheric CO2. That's... about twice what we were seeing. And the methane... this is what we couldn't figure out." She looked up from her pad. "That's _amazing_."

"A drop in the bucket, nonetheless," Angela said, taking control of the conversation back from her wives. "And we know that."

"But enough to matter!" Mei exclaimed, looking back and forth between the padd and Angela Ziegler. "You're, you're tipping the balance!"

The Goddess of Life nodded, "But we could do so much more - particularly in the oceans, which have been so badly damaged... if only we had someone who really _understood_ the problem working with us. Someone..." she said, her eyes seeming to sparkle, "extraordinary."

Mei-Ling blanched a bit, as Fareeha laughed a little. "Don’t be so mysterious dear, it can be intimidating." She looked back to Mei-Ling with a warm smile. "Of course she means you."

"I got that," Mei-Ling said, the wariness back in her voice, even as, for a moment, Fareeha seemed so much... as she had, back then.

"This is the kind of offer you gave Michael, isn't it," she said, after another moment.

"Essentially," Angela confirmed, smiling.

"Why didn't he come here for this?"

"There're already three of us, isn't that frightening enough?"

"Why the three of _you?_ "

Angela sighed, and looked at her wives, and back at Mei. "I'm here because I've worked with you and I miss you. Fareeha's here because..."

"I'm here because of that video I shot... before," the Huntress said. "The one that frightened you so badly. I'm here to show you that I am, in fact, myself."

Angela nodded, took her wife's hand, and squeezed it gently. "And Moira's here because she's the one of us you fear the most, and we're not going to hide from that."

"I stayed away from Hana, at first, for the same reasons," Moira said, quietly, looking down at her tea. "I think that was a mistake, and this time, I'm trying another approach." She looked back up. "I have done," she swallowed, "horrific things, in the past. Things for which I am deeply sorry. But that _is_ the past, and I truly regret the ways in which I hurt people, particularly but not just those I..." - her expression softened as she glanced at Fareeha - "...care about the most. I am no longer that person."

"I ... see," Dr. Zhou said, quietly. "But it's... become one of _you_ , like Michael did, and then, I can help save the earth."

"That is what we offer," Angela said, hope in her voice. "The upgrades are... well. You'd see. The vision, the sheer physical and emotional stamina... the places you could go, safely, without environmental suits or breathing apparatus - there are so many reasons. And you do not have to answer now, but, yes, we are asking - would you join us?"

Mei-Ling didn't hesitate to reply. "I would do the work. I would do anything necessary to save our world. But... I do not _need_ to become whatever _you_ are to work for _that_." She shook her head, expression firm, and stood up from the table. "No. I would not."

"...you would... not?"

"No."

"I..." Angela looked sad - deeply sad - but, after a moment, nodded. "You can't know what you are turning down. But... of course, it is, always, your decision." She glanced to her wives, took Fareeha's hand again for just a second, caressing it lightly, before standing, and looking back. "The offer will remain open to you. If you change your mind, and I hope you will, then..."

"Wait," Fareeha said, also standing. "Mei - _you don't have to be upgraded to work with us_."

"...what?" Mei said, confused. "Isn't this..."

"That's part of the offer, and I can't even say how much you're giving up by rejecting that part, but it is is not _required_."

Moira blinked, surprised. _Of course, of course, why didn't we..._ "It's absolutely not. We need a climatologist, Dr. Zhou, to direct our remediation efforts. You're the best in the world as you are. We think there are reasons to accept improvement - tremendously good reasons - but... it is _not_ a prerequisite."

"No one - well, except Michael - at my institute have received the upgrades, Mei," Angela added quickly. "I'm so sorry - I ... I can see... yes. But Fareeha is right. The offers... can be separate."

Dr. Ziegler picked up the padd she'd handed over, before, back up off the table, where it had been abandoned. "All the details - the details of the _position_ we are offering you - are here. The personal upgrades... should you accept them, I promise, you would never regret it, not for a moment... are described as well, but... they are optional."

She held the tablet out, again, to Dr. Zhou. "Please. Think about what you could do, either as one of us... or merely _with_ us. We could so much good for the world, together. At least... at least read the details of what we are offering you, if nothing else."

"I do not have to be... changed," Mei said, cautiously.

"Not one bit," Angela confirmed, firmly, tablet still offered. "We could do _so much good for the world_. We just need to know how best to do it. Help us save the world, Mei. Please."

Mei looked into Angela's bronze eyes, and for the first time in over a year, thought she might have seen someone she knew.

"I will," she said, taking the padd, "...consider it."


	2. i didn't think it was possible, before

"That didn't seem so bad," Brigitte said as Mei-Ling cleared boarding security. "They're all really kind of _intense_ , but... it seemed pretty normal." _Like with Hana_ , she thought. _Only moreso_.

"It was nerve-wracking," Mei said, as she put Angela's padd into the special isolation case she'd brought as her carry-on luggage and snapped it shut. "Now, I hope, we can talk. Athena, you're still here?"

"Of course," Athena replied, via Mei's own padd. "The carbon data is interesting. If 240ppm is actually being maintained inside and around the developments... that is data I did not have. We must confirm it."

"I agree!" Mei replied, "It would explain so much!"

"You were brave," Hanzo said softly as he stepped forward to hug Mei-Ling, and she hugged him back, happy and relieved. “I am proud of you.”

"I couldn't follow what you were saying very well. Did they make you the offer?" Brigitte asked, as they headed down the promenade towards their return flight.

"They did. But... becoming one of them isn't required."

"Really?" Hanzo asked with a thoughtful look. "That is quite unexpected."

"They offered it. I refused. They said... it was okay. That it remained on the table and that I was turning down more than I know but... that it was my decision either way." She looked a little dismayed. "The rest is a job offer. A _really good_ job offer. Do you know what they've been doing?"

"No," both Hanzo and Brigitte said, and they laughed a little at each other, relief settling in as they reached their terminal.

Mei-Ling shook her head. _Of course they don't, silly._ "I read it over while I was queued," she said. "It's environmental repair on an unprecedented scale, and they want to expand it to the oceans. Between... between letting me remain unchanged... and what they did for Korea... I think we might be able to make something work!"

"You mean it?" Brigitte replied, quietly, desperately, hoping, _please, let it be true_. "This might ... work itself out, in the end? Despite...?"

Mei bit her lower lip, and thought. "I don't know. If only we could be sure! But... I think... maybe..." She flopped heavily down into one of the chairs to wait for the first boarding call as Hanzo sat beside her, and Brigitte across. "For just a moment, a couple of times, I... I could still see the old Angela. _And_ Fareeha. _Particularly_ Fareeha. Not separate, it's... it's like they're still there, but just with... more." She sat up, a little taller. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I almost wish they'd brought Lena - maybe she's the same way now!"

"Really?" Brigitta said, as Hanzo contemplated the possibilities. "You think Ana's wrong about Ree, then?"

"I think... I think she might be." Mei-Ling leaned forward and smiled. "I think... despite everything that happened... I think that just maybe, if we're very careful... things might be okay after all!"

\-----

"Yes," Mei said, using her best ‘Dr. Zhou, Respected Scientist’ voice, from her laboratory office in China. "I'm saying we should give it a chance, and I am willing to accept the risk."

She'd studied Angela and Moira's documents in detail for a week before calling this conference, and searched out her contacts throughout the community about the situation at the Ziegler Institute. Everything she heard pointed towards the same conclusion: she'd be mad to say no. "After Korea... after Lúcio and Brigitte have said Hana has been acting mostly like herself... I’m willing to take this opportunity to find out."

Reinhardt nodded, considering the possibilities. "It would be a tremendous relief, if genuine."

"And a good intelligence opportunity, either way," Morrison admitted, as Ana considered the odds and looked thoughtful, over comms from Taipei.

"It's tremendously _dangerous_ , Mei," Amari replied. "You _know_ how much they want you as one of them. They could have just been telling you what they thought you wanted to hear - and they are _still_ engaging in _terrible_ abuses.”

"I am not entirely convinced, based on what we’ve learned," Dr. Zhou insisted. "I don't think you understand what 240ppm carbon dioxide can do. Particularly not combined with heavy-metal effect removal! That’s... it’s incredible, honestly!"

“You didn’t mention this before,” Jack pointed out.

“I didn’t think it was _possible_ before,” Mei admitted. “No one has ever tried doing environmental remediation on that kind of scale. Until now, it was considered too expensive to even think about."

"What's changed?" Morrison asked.

"The work they're doing with hardlight," the doctor responded. "It solves so many materials scarcity issues that it changes literally everything!”

"I do not think the data supports your theory that the changes in behaviour of residents in and near Vishkar developments can be entirely ascribed to better environmental conditions," Athena said. "But I admit it is statistically possible - even part of it, perhaps. However, the simpler explanation - more direct intervention - remains far more likely."

"And I would be in the best possible position to find out, wouldn't I?" the climatologist replied as she adjusted her glasses. "We have been guessing and watching for far too long. I understand why you decided to lock out Hana after she... left, even if I think it was a mistake. But this... this is a chance to find out what's _really_ happening, from the inside, from someone _unchanged_. We can't ignore it."

"How could we protect you," Hanzo asked, quietly, "if they decided to change their minds? Particularly at their ecopoint. I hardly think they'd allow you a personal bodyguard."

"Maybe they would," Mei replied, smiling a little. “I could make a request, at least."

Genji shook his head. "My brother beat me to my point. We would have no way of acting, if they changed their minds."

"I know I'm taking a risk," Mei-Ling said soberly. "But... no one else at the Ziegler Institute has been changed, either. We're confident of that - aren't we, Athena?"

"...we are," Winston's daughter replied, almost reluctantly.

Mei nodded as she sat back in her chair. "And they have several world-class researchers on staff, some of whom have come onboard in the last two years, _all_ of whom have been left alone."

"Maybe they're doing some bad things," she continued. "In fact, they almost certainly are. But this... this might be my chance to make up for..." She stopped for a moment, eyes closed, and took a deep breath to settle herself. "For my part in what happened."

She opened her eyes again, meeting everyone’s gaze with her own resolve. "I'm going to take the position, whether you think it is a good idea or not."

"Then we'll back you up in any way we can, Mei," Morrison said, acknowledging the reality, Reinhardt nodding his approval behind him.

"Of course we will," Amari agreed. Behind her, McCree - clearly less sanguine - stood, and silently stalked away.

"I could see if we have anyone who could be a laboratory assistant in our agent database," Genji volunteered. "If you are amenable to that."

"As long as they're qualified, sure!" Mei replied. "I may have a few suggestions too. But anyone who comes with me needs to understand that we’re there to do science _first._ If something is going to go wrong... I do not want to be the one who causes it."

_Not this time_ , she thought. _Not again._


	3. an unanticipated addition to the party

_[Mid-December, 2078]_

Mei-Ling Zhou looked out the window as their charter flight finally approached Oasis airspace. The storm had been forecast, but not the severity, and they'd run quite late.

She turned and looked to her escorts. Oasis was expecting two of them, and not the third, but when Jack Morrison had finally said he was willing to give them a chance, she wasn't going to turn him down. Particularly after he didn't even flinch when she told him Dr. O'Deorain would be greeting their party.

"Everyone squared away?" she asked, looking around at her small team.

"Isn't that my line?" Brigitte joked, and Hanzo smiled a little, nodding his readiness, looking quite smart in his white shirt, blue tie, and grey pinstripe vest.

_Of course he's ready_ , she thought, smiling at him warmly before she turned to Morrison. "Are you okay, Jack?"

"Hm?" he asked, looking up and giving a curt nod. "Sorry. Just thinking through options, if this goes bad on us."

"Don't get any ideas!" she warned. "No surprises - not like last time!"

"Unlike certain cowboys," he said, gruffly, " _some of us_ can stick to a plan. This is too good an intelligence opportunity to improvise, and I won't, unless we're forced to. Don't worry - I'm ready."

"Okay. Buckle in everyone," she said, as the seatbelt lights lit. "We're landing!"

\-----

Hana Song looked around the terminal for what she knew was probably the thousandth time, tapping her foot in a steady thumping rhythm.

“Wasn’t their flight supposed to be in by now?” 

The Goddess of Life checked her tablet, then put a reassuring hand on the MEKA’s shoulder. “They were slightly delayed by storm activity over Pakistan, but they should be touching down shortly.” She smiled as Hana gave a resigned little sigh. “We can’t control the weather, after all.” 

Hana tried to relax, but still kept an eye on the VIP arrivals gate. “Isn’t that sort of the point, though? What we’re trying to do?”

“In a sense," the Goddess of the Mind said, "but climate is not the same as...”

"Ah!" A flash of sunlight off metal and glass had caught Angela’s eye, and she turned to the window to see the rapidly approaching charter flight. “I believe that’s them now.”

They dropped the discussion in favour of watching the sleek business flyer taxi in, the jetway extend once the aircraft had been secured, and the movement of faint silhouettes through the polarized glass of the cockpit as the passengers deplaned.

"Greetings, Dr. Zhou, and welcome to Oasis," the Minister said, stepping up to meet the climatologist as she stepped into the terminal, and bowing. "It's an honour, as always."

"Thank you!" Mei said, bowing in return. "I've been looking forward to it very much!"

"I see you've brought your..." And the Minister stopped, as she realised that to their surprise, their ‘guest of honour’ had brought three escorts, not two.

“Jack?!” Angela didn’t bother to disguise her shock, the hard light feathers of her wings extending and fluttering for a moment. "You... you came with them?”

Mei nodded, and said, "I asked him if he would."

The former Strike Commander managed an awkward smile for Angela, reaching up to rub at his short-cropped white hair. “I decided I wanted to have a look at the ecopoint plans myself. They - the originals, the Overwatch ecopoints - _were_ my idea, after all.”

"I must admit," Moira said to Dr. Zhou, keeping her voice as pleasant as she could manage. "I did not expect to see your... our old friend, today."

"I hope it is not too much a surprise," Mei-Ling responded, cautiously.

“Your escorts are your choice, and entirely welcome,” Angela rushed to assured them both. “But... Jack... may I ask what changed your mind?”

Morrison turned to give Hana a significant look from where she stood, nervously looking between him, Mei-Ling, and most of all, Brigitte.

“Korea, in part,” he said gruffly, his tone softening as he looked away, not quite able to look into Angela’s shining eyes, not yet. “It took a little while for us to really catch up, but... you did something we couldn’t - something we _never_ could. And then you followed it with this. I decided..." he looked back up, "...we owe you a shot.”

Angela considered that, as did Moira, and then brought her former commander into a hug. “Thank you. It’s all we've asked for, you know.”

“Well,” Jack grunted, glancing at the Minister of Genetics. “We’ll see.” He looked over to where a cart was being wheeled over with the luggage they’d brought, and gave the doctors a businesslike nod before heading over to meet it. 

Once Jack had stepped away, Hana gave Mei and Hanzo the briefest of waves as Angela and Moira resumed their pleasantries with Dr. Zhou. Finally, she walked over to where Brigitte stood, a little apart, dressed in a tailored suit and skirt that she was pretty sure concealed at least two collapsible weapons. 

“Hey,” she breathed nervously, and Brigitte took her hand and squeezed tight. 

“Hey yourself,” she smiled, and Hana relaxed just a bit more. “Sorry, I’m kind of on the clock, or I’d do a lot more than hold your hand.”

“Oh, no, no, I get it,” Hana assured her. “I’m just... I’m glad you’re here, even if it’s just for a little while...” She thought about it for almost half a moment more before shaking her head and saying, "But I'm _not_ on the clock," and she hugged her girlfriend, so tightly, so close, and for a moment Brigitte couldn't breathe, before Hana relaxed just a little bit, remembering, and then, let go, and stepped back. "Sorry. No, not sorry. But I'll be good."

"I certainly hope not!" she said, thinking, _Huff - she's **so** strong!_

"Until you're off duty," Hana said, kissing her girlfriend's hand.

"I like that much better."

"Okay, gang," Mei called from where Jack stood with Hanzo, luggage paperwork finally sorted. "Let's get to the hotel!"

"We'd planned to take you all out to dinner," Angela said, brightly. "Might we extend that reservation to Jack, as well?"

"I have _lots_ of reservations," the Strike Commander deadpanned. "But none for tonight."

One side of Moira's mouth quirked in a hint of a smile. "I imagine they'll make room for one more."

"Sounds good to me!" Mei-Ling said, just happy that no one had started shooting. "Let's go!"

\-----

“I thought that went well,” Mei-Ling observed as she changed out of the more formal outfit she’d worn out to dinner.

Hanzo gave an inquisitive sort of grunt, and she smiled to herself as she pulled off her top. She’d learned more and more about how to read her lover’s moods, even if he was reluctant to open up to almost everyone else. “You don’t agree?” 

“I do not... _disagree_ ,” Hanzo finally admitted as he rose from the bed. “But it is clear this will be a challenge. O’Deorain does not seem so different - and Doctor Ziegler was kind enough, but some of her words…”

Mei-Ling finished shrugging out of her bra and pulling her well loved pyjama top on before she turned around to answer him. “I think what Hana told Brigitte is true - being a ‘goddess’ has gone to her head. But…” She tilted her head a bit as she considered what she was trying to say. “I know about that, now. I can try to anticipate it, and she’s still _Angela_ , I think. I can work with that.” 

Hanzo sighed as he put his arms around her, and Mei leaned her head against his shoulder. 

“I did not know her well, before these changes, so I must take your word for it. Perhaps it would have been better if my brother had come. He knew both of the doctors before. He might be a... better judge of their characters.” 

“That’s a big part of why the Commander is here, honestly.” She looked up, her smile turning a bit mischievous, then pressed a kiss to the interwoven storm clouds and dragon tails of his tattoo, tracing along where they framed his shoulder and chest. “And I wouldn’t be doing _this_ with Genji.” 

He chuckled softly, acknowledging the point before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “No, you would not.” 

“You’re still worried though,” Mei-Ling observed as she broke away just long enough to slip into her pyjama pants. 

“It is difficult not to be,” Hanzo admitted, then put a hand on Mei's shoulder, as she put on the soft leggings, wondering why even as she did it, since they'd almost certainly be coming off again in a little while. “Are you certain this will work?”

“No! I am not!” Mei-Ling said, before kissing his knuckles. “But I think it _can_ work. So I have to try.”

He bowed his head, acknowledging her resolve, then lead her back to the impressively large bed in her temporary rooms. 

They would have only a few days together before he would return to Overwatch, and her, to Lijiang - and so they were determined to make the most of them.


	4. a lovely village, in the desert

_[Mid-December, 2078]_

Mei-Ling Zhou stood outside a faux mahogany apartment door, one of only two on that level of the building, silently reading the three words on the nameplate.

> _Gardner_   
>  _Guillard_   
>  _Oxton_   
> 

Oasis had been... well. Not overwhelming, exactly. Not the city itself, at least. Compared to a large city in China, it was a lovely village, and little more than that. But the intellectual firepower, particularly at the Ziegler Institute... that was another story.

She'd not expected Efi Oladele to be part of that firepower, much less to meet her in person. But she'd shown up one afternoon by teleporter from Numbani, talking pressure tolerance on robotic sensors and mobile sub-sapient semi-intelligent environmental probes, throwing out ideas and solutions in their brainstorming session faster than anyone she'd ever heard, rose-gold eyes flashing with excitement at every challenge.

_It seems so natural, for her_ , she thought. _Maybe that's why they Changed her so... young._

She'd had her pick of staff for the ecopoint - staff which included a former Overwatch agent as a lab assistant - and the models looked promising. They'd already implemented her proposed changes to the Vishkar environmental cleaners; they might eke out only another percent or two of improvement, but with no downside potential, why not make them? Satya Vaswani had even looked just a little impressed.

But Mei-Ling had another task yet ahead.

She set her determination, and rang the bell. Almost instantly, the door opened, and there stood Lena, in all green, with a pointy hat and a jingle bell, bellowing, "HO HO H..." before she blinked in surprise and took a step back, shock plain on her face.

"Hello, Lena," Mei said quietly.

"Hi. Ah. I..." Lena stammered. "I thought you were, I thought it was Hana. Or Sombra. It's movie night, and..."

"I know," Mei said, keeping herself calm and her voice soft. "Hana invited me. I decided to come over early because I... I wanted to talk. If you’re willing. Is that okay?"

"Oh gods, Mei, are you..." Lena shook her head, flummoxed. She'd been staying away, particularly once she'd found out Morrison had shown up, too. But now...

Mei tried to look around as casually as she could. "Are... um... Danielle and Emily here?"

"No," Lena said, stepping back from the door, towards the living room. "I left the MoD early, t'get the apartment ready," she said, laughing a little as she found her footing. "Y'know what a state I leave things in, sometimes."

"I do," Mei said, not stepping forward. "I'm sorry, I can come back, or not come back, if..." She shrugged. “I just thought… maybe this was a good time. But…”

"No! No! Mei-Ling. It's been ages. C'mon in. I've, I've all cleaned up anyway."

The climatologist stepped through the doorway and small portico, looking over the living room, the kitchen to her left, the corner balcony, doorways leading off in either direction. A timer beeped, and Lena looked towards the kitchen.

"Just made some tea, in fact. Don't know how y'feel about assams, but - y'want some?"

"Thank you," she said, following Lena as the Weapon walked deliberately to the kitchen, took the basket of leaves out of the oversized teapot, let them drain, and dumped them into a compost bin.

_She's slowing herself down_ , Mei-Ling thought. _For me._ She watched as Lena poured two large mugs of tea, one with a single sugar, one with three sugars and cream. _And she remembers_ , Mei thought, bowing her head a moment as she took the offered mug with a smile.

"So," Lena said, pulling over a stool and sitting on the kitchen side of the bar. "Been a while." She shook her head, for a moment, too quickly, before slowing herself down again. "Uh. Guess I said that already," she added, laughing a little. "What brings y'by?"

Mei took a sip of her tea, put it down, and looked into the dark liquid before looking back up. "I'm sorry."

"F'what, luv?" Lena looked, copper eyes suddenly almost warm. Too hard-edged, still, to be quite there, but...

"For what happened to you. For what happened to... all of us.” She shook her head as that old nagging guilt churned in her stomach, clawing at her throat as it grew tight. “It's my fault."

"No! Mei, no!" Lena leaned forward, stopping herself from hugging before Mei-Ling even knew she was moving. "It's not. And even if it had been..."

"It was, though. Not all of it, but..." Mei-Ling bit her lower lip for a second, face screwed into sadness, trying to keep on track. "I've been over those meetings back at Gibraltar so many times. They were... _we_ were going to say no. Tell O’Deorain that we would not cooperate. That you and Danielle would stay with us, and that would be that.” Her hands tightened as remembered that day again. The horrible feeling of knowing she would have to speak up. “They were going to keep you out of it, but I said we didn't have any choice, we _had_ to, we didn't have _any_ choice, and I told them _why_ , and..." She felt an urge to sob rising, and she had to stop herself so she could choke it down. 

"I remember, but oh, gods, Mei, no, don't..."

She shook her head, cutting Lena off again. "I thought about what could happen, what the worst case would be, and I said _we have to do it anyway_." She set her lip, and looked straight into those copper eyes. "I sacrificed _you_ \- the old you - to stop that war. Because I couldn’t see any other way. This is... _all of it..._ is _my_ fault, Lena, and I'm sorry. I’m so, so sorry!"

She couldn't stop the tears, then. She sat and sobbed, curling into herself, unable to hold back the tide of guilt and shame. She didn’t even notice as Lena carefully walked around the little table at the end of the counter, didn’t realize that she’d sat down next to her until she pulled her in against her chest, and held her tightly as she cried.

"Mei?" she heard Tracer, no, _Lena_ , say softly, after a moment, then another moment, and then another. "Mei? It's me. It's Lena. _Thank you._ "

"No," Mei said mournfully. "I know... I _think_ I know what you think now. And Hana told me that you and the others know what really happened even if you don't remember it. I know that, and I _know_ , but... you wouldn't have thanked me. Not before."

The Lena Oxton who was now nodded. "Suppose not," she agreed after a moment. "Maybe wouldn't've. But _I_ do, and I'm the me you've got, so... might as well go with it, yeh?"

"But... everything that happened after is my fault," Mei-Ling insisted through the last of her tears. "Including, including Win..."

" _No._ " Lena said, voice suddenly firm and strong, taking Mei by the shoulders, and gently pushing her back up. " _Not_ Winston. Winston's death is _my_ fault, Mei. Well... mine, and Gabe's. But he's paid for it, and he's gone. I'm the only one who's left, which means now it's on _me_."

" _And on me_ ," Mei insisted.

" _You_ didn't hit him with a fucking _bomb_ ," Lena replied, the bitterness in her voice plain. "I did that."

"Maybe so," Mei said, resolutely. "But I helped put that bomb together. And I’m the one who made sure it kept ticking, even when we knew it was going to go off in our faces."

"Hoo," Lena said, breathing out, slowly, slumping a little in her chair. "That's not fair to yourself, luv." She glanced up at the cabinets. "Maybe this conversation calls for something a little harder than tea..."

"No!" Mei said, quickly, part of her agreeing far too much. "I can't drink alcohol anymore. Please don't offer again."

" _Oh,_ " she heard Lena whisper, before she nodded and replied, "Never again, hun. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Mei gave a little dismissive wave of her hand. "It's fine."

Lena gave her a knowing look. "But it's not, really, is it?"

Mei managed a watery smile. "No."

"It’s... different for me. Mostly." Lena took Mei's hands in her own, but stopped herself from putting a hand against her cheek. "Mei, please believe me: I love my life. I love my wives. I love my _mum_ , even if... a lot of people on your side of the fence seem to think that's bizarre. I am _so very happy_. If anything you did helped make this happen, believe me, luv, I am _grateful_." She paused, and took a breath to collect herself. "But even with that... if there's one thing in the world I could undo, it's killing Winston. I'd give up _everything_ to save him, if I could. But I can't. And that was hard for me to accept. Part of me... part of me still hasn’t, really. But all I can do is try to make it... not _right_ , 'cause I can't, but... I can use the rest of my life t'make something he'd be proud of. And _everything_ I do is..."

Mei blinked as she saw Lena's eyes water up, before the teleporter wiped a tear away with the back of one hand.

"I believe you," Mei said gently, a little surprised that she actually did.

Lena blinked more tears from her eyes. "Y'do?" 

And Mei nodded, _yes_ , not quite able to find her words.

"Thanks, luv," Lena said, sniffing a little herself now. "I'm glad for that. I just wish anyone else in Overwatch would."

"Like Jesse?"

"Jesse's a whole sack of cocks," Lena snorted. "I don't give a buggery fuck what he thinks anymore, not after what he did. Not Cap, either, not after how beastly she was to Ree. But some of the others... yeah."

Mei pursed her lips. "That's partly why I'm here, you know. Why we're all here."

Lena nodded. "We'd... well, _I'd_ hoped so. Have to admit, I didn't expect you t'bring the entourage, but... I hope y'pull it off." After a moment, she glanced at a clock on the wall, a hideous thing with Santa's face and peppermint sticks for hands that she absolutely adored. "Are y'actually staying for movie night? It's all Christmas fluff, y'know. Shorts. And a movie. _It's a Wonderful Life_."

Mei-Ling thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Is that okay?"

Lena Oxton smiled a genuine smile at Mei-Ling Zhou.

"I think it'd be brilliant."

"I think maybe it would be, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> [](https://78.media.tumblr.com/45f5627f3004310159e245d36b6e3f2c/tumblr_pdqjgzm5Y41tdy6vno1_1280.png)  
> 


	5. a new home beneath the sea

_[Early January, 2079]_

"Whatcha think, luv?"

The ever-hyperactive Lena Oxton teleported around from level to level, grinning, inside the massive undersea dome, the former Omnium, the new Ecopoint China Sea, with the Concordat seal set into the floor where one once might have expected the Overwatch insignia. With all the hard light used in the refitting of the complex it felt to Mei like being in Oasis, or Numbani, or perhaps more like the research complexes that had been built in one of the newer Concordat member cities like Seattle, or Incheon.

New, and small, but not _too_ small. And so full of promise.

Mei had got more used to the new Tracer, enough so that Lena had let herself relax a bit, stopped reining herself quite so far in. Intense as she was - as all the gods were, really - underneath it, she saw more and more of the old Lena, just turned up.

Her wives, though... Widowmaker... well. She was what you'd expect. Reserve incarnate, though not quite unfriendly. Oilliphéist - _Emily_ \- by contrast, was downright gregarious. Shockingly nice, even, and all the more frightening for it.

"It looks so much like the renderings!" she called up into the air towards the top of the dome, where she spotted Hana in full D.va regalia, putting some more equipment into position to be connected to the sensors installed along the outer hull.

"Hana!" Mei called, from far below. "Can you hear me? Hiya!"

She saw D.va wave, but didn't hear a reply until the Goddess of Strategy jumped down and landed surprisingly gently in front of her and her escort. There was a burst of light as the exoskeleton dissolved down into Hana, clearly filled with surprise and delight as she seized her friends in a hug. "Mei-Ling! You're early! And you brought Hanzo!"

Mei giggled in the embrace before taking a step back. Hana, too, seemed closer to the person they both had known - so much so that the archer hadn't even flinched at the hug. "I thought it would be a good idea to get a look in person, rather than just by remote, before the staff start moving in. But really - I just couldn't wait!" She looked around her at the layered balconies surrounding the large, open atrium at the centre of the dome, as her escort did the same. "It looks so different to the last inspection. You’ve done so much!"

"Yeah, it looks a lot different than the first time I saw it, too," Hana said grimly. "Almost enough that I don't feel like shooting at anything."

Mei-Ling looked nervously at the Korean woman, who kept a straight face for a long moment before she broke, giggling at her reaction. "C'mon, Mei, lighten up a little!"

"I guess you got me!" she said, more than a little relieved, as Hanzo chuckled, a little, despite himself. _It's so hard to tell when they're joking, sometimes_ , Mei-Ling thought.

"It's too bad China got so antsy about having a teleporter station," Hana said. "We’re on track, but it would have been a lot quicker to bring in the gear that way instead of using those stupid submarines."

Dr. Zhou nodded. But the no-teleporter rule had come from _her_ , and from Overwatch, not her government, even if they had been happy to let her demand it in their name.

"It's hardly a military installation," Dr. O'Deorain had said during the negotiations, exasperation unhidden in her voice. "It's a research facility."

"So was Oasis, three years ago," the ambassador had replied. "And now, you are a superpower. If you want our cooperation, there will be no teleporters."

Eventually they'd worked down to "no teleporters except for emergency evacuation," all of them rigged with alarms that would go off in Beijing - and elsewhere - as soon as they were touched.

"Y'saw the lower levels last time, yeh?" Lena asked, popping back to the main floor, as chipper as ever. "They're pretty much the same, it's the upper floors that we're finishing up now."

"Hana told me construction is fully on schedule," Dr. Zhou said, suddenly in full Lead Researcher mode, bringing up a checklist on her padd. "We'll be able to begin operations as scheduled in February?"

"Absolutely," Lena replied, with assurance. "C'mon!" she continued, teleporting ahead to an open stairwell. "Let's get this tour moving!"

_Yes_ , Mei thought with growing excitement as she looked around the station that would become her new home. _Let’s get started!_

**Author's Note:**

> There will be three related fragments to this instalment; they will be posted on Wednesday night, Sunday night, and the following Wednesday.
> 
> This is the twentieth instalment of _Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Ascension_. To follow this story, [subscribe to the series via this link](https://archiveofourown.org/series/972024), rather than to the individual works.


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